Viewing entries tagged
Japan
Japanese firm 
Someone please send me a translated copy of this issue of American Police. I will pay shipping. Thanks.
While New York City manhole covers are potential deathtraps, in comparison the Japanese use them as a blank canvas upon which they create beautifully carved and painted scenes, such as this one seen above.
Excerpts from a Japanese manga (slightly NSFW) adaptation of the film JAWS. Does not feature T-Pain on a boat. Here's part 1 and 2.
[Via]
A provocative and informative essay by Lisa Katayama for Boing Boing that tackles the question--"Why do so many love to gawk at this mysterious, foreign "other" that is Japanese culture?" --changed the way I read the Internet and provided some context to what I see. I highly recommend it.
One important premise of Japanese popular culture is the commitment to have fun and not take offense. Japanese humor works on many different levels and its nuances can be hard to explain to people who didn't grow up with it.If you're one of those people who watched our wedding video between the man and his DS girlfriend and said things like: "He's such a loser" "He takes it too seriously LOL" and "God help this poor soul" — not to mention the racist comments about Japs and nukes and one-inch dicks — you just don't get it. You're not in on the joke. You're the one taking it too seriously, and you might be imposing your own biases and hang-ups on someone else's situation.
Being majime (too serious) is not cool in Japan; likewise it is important for voyeurs of Japanese culture to recognize that most everything pop-culture-y that is exported to the West comes at us with a wink. If you're all up in arms about it, then maybe the joke is on you.
This is pretty much the very opposite of Ninja Warrior. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpg3xM-niVw&fmt=18]
[Via]
I like this sculpture a lot. It can be found at a children's center (Kodomo No Shiro) in Japan.
[Via]
Hayao Miyazaki--creator of Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle which are two of my favorite animated films--in a recent interview about his new hit Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea explains why he favors the traditional pencil over computers:
I think animation is something that needs the pencil, needs man's drawing hand, and that is why I decided to do this work in this way. Currently computer graphics are of course used a great deal and, as I've said before, this use can at times be excessive. I will continue to use my pencil as long as I can.
Not to argue with a master, but Pixar has demonstrably proven that animation doesn't need the pencil, but Miyazaki's drawings are unquestionably infused with something magical that no computer could produce on its own. Tools aside, Pixar and Miyazaki share a commonality in that what makes their films so successful is ultimately great and compelling stories for all ages.
[Thanks Moye!]
A Japanese TV crew captured a record setting 45 second flight by a flying fish near Japan's southwestern Kagoshima Prefecture. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io3u7diLCfU]
Read more here.
Even the parrots in Japan are smart!
Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said.He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.
"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.
Read more here.
[Thanks Moudhy!]